Test of English as a Foreign Language or TOEFL is commonly abbreviated English language proficiency test is the most popular. This test is often one of the
requirements to register for study abroad and are also often required as a condition of the giver beasiswa.TOEFL is organized by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). ETS conducted two types of TOEFL, which Paper-Based Test (PBT) and Internet-Based Test (iBT). Because Indonesia is now only held in the form of TOEFL iBT, and also because this form is now the most common form of the TOEFL.
Listening section of TOEFL iBT
measures your ability to understand spoken English in academic settings. In
TOEFL iBT the listening is done for 3 major purposes:
1. Listening for basic
comprehension.
2. Listening for pragmatic
understanding.
3. To connect and combine ideas
presented in multiple information sources.
Each part of the Listening
section (2 or 3 parts) consists of 1 long conversation and two lectures. The
test takers hear each lecture or conversation only once. Lectures and
conversations are 3-5 minutes long. During the listening the time is not
running. The allotted time of 10 minutes for each part is only for answering
the questions.
Preparation Strategies
Listen to spoken English from
multiple sources as much as possible. Listen to English spoken movies and
English spoken TV channels, listen to the radio and as many other listening
sources as you may find. It would be better if your passages are academic or
close to what is in TOEFL iBT. The more you practice listening, the better
listener you will become.
Listen for the main idea. It is
usually found at the beginning of the listening passages, while the details are
dispersed throughout the lecture. The main idea will give you understanding of
what the conversation/lecture is about. Then you may listen for details.
Learn to find how the ideas are
presented in the listening passage. Some of the main relations between ideas
include cause/effect, compare/contrast, and steps in a process.
Learn to listen for signal words
that indicate different part of the passage - introduction, major steps,
examples, conclusions, etc.
Build your vocabulary. While
listening, try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from context. It is
very important since there is a big chance to come across words you don't know
at the real test. Then, you should guess their meaning. Write down every word
you don't know and include it in your wordlist. Try to memorize it and use it
in your speaking and writing. Flashcards could be a great way to improve your
vocabulary.
Listen to conversations or
lectures with variety of accents. In TOEFL iBT Listening section there is a
variety of accents and pronunciations. For this reason, you should practice
listening to a people with different accents and pronunciation patterns.
Practice note-taking. Note-taking
is allowed during all sections of TOEFL iBT. Effective note-taking may highly
improve your performance. It is almost impossible to memorize all clues and
details provided in the Listening section. Moreover, you can hear the passages
ONLY ONCE. Therefore, to answer the questions you have to rely on what you
remember from the passage and your notes. See also our Effective Note-Taking Strategies.
Summarize in writing what you
have heard, using your notes. Thus, you will learn to find the purpose and main
idea of the listening, and also the most important details. You will also learn
to take and use notes. It also helps in improving your writing skills.
Familiarize yourself with the
type of questions in TOEFL iBT. Make sure that during the preparation you learn
what answers are required by the different types of question. Some questions
may ask you to provide two answers, others to click in a chart box. If you are
familiar with the question types, you may save important time.
At the exam strategies
Forget about the Reading section.
Now it is time to fully concentrate on the Listening section.
The clock is ticking only when
you are answering the questions and not when you are listening to the passages.
So, when you listen, forget about the clock.
Prepare for note-taking. Before
the section starts, write down the words 'main idea', 'major points', and
'important details'. Under which word you will place your notes from the
listening passage.
Do not be distracted by the
speaker's accent, speaking style and delivery. Focus on the content and flow of
information the speaker(s) deliver.
Listen to find clues that will
help you understand what the speaker's purpose, attitude and degree of
certainty is. Listen for words that show relationship between ideas.
Pay attention to the visual
materials. Some of the visual materials in the Listening section bring
important information. Blackboards show important words or phrases that are
discussed during the lecture. Illustrations and graphics support the
information presented in the lecture. They are available only when the lecturer
refers to them.
Answering is different. In the
Listening section you may not return to the previous questions to correct your
answers. Nevertheless, you have to confirm twice that you want to move to the
next question. First, when you provide your answer you have to press the NEXT button.
After pressing the NEXT button you may alter you answer. To move to the next
question you have to press OK button. Sometimes test takers forget this and lose
important time. Please, set your mind that you have to press two buttons.
Take a guess. There is no penalty
for an incorrect answer in TOEFL iBT. It doesn't bring any points. If you see
you are running out of time, just take a guess and mark answers for all
remaining questions. There is 25 % chance to guess the right answer.
Use i-Courses.org scored
listening materials to practice, monitor your progress, and receive creative
feedback with guidelines on how to improve your weaknesses and strengthen your
strong sides.
Source : http://i-courses.org/?p=listening_tips
♥ THANKS FOR READING ♥
Tontowi/Liliyana Gagal Ikuti Jejak Simon
